Housing Minister Megan Woods today announced the Government would commit $6.35m to supporting QLCHT’s assisted home ownership programme, Secure Home. The loan is part of the first phase of a wider $400 million Progressive Home Ownership scheme the Government is rolling out across the country.

The loan will provide funding for 25 Secure Home properties within the Toru development at Remarkables Park, Frankton. The Trust has a contract to purchase 50 Toru apartments, which are due for completion early 2021.

QLCHT chair Andrew Blair says: “We are delighted to receive Government backing of this scale – it demonstrates clear support for our innovative Secure Home programme, which we launched last year.

“We have had a contract on the Toru apartments for two years, but following the COVID-19 crisis, we are very grateful for this Government assistance, which will ensure we are able to offer these properties to the 600 households on our waiting list,” Blair says.

QLCHT Executive Officer Julie Scott says she has been part of a collective working with the Government to design the $400m Progressive Home Ownership scheme, which aims to help several thousand low-to-moderate income renter households into their own homes.

“It’s great to see Government recognition for alternative home ownership programmes like those our sector offers. Financial support of this nature will enable community housing providers across New Zealand to scale up and help more Kiwis into home ownership.”

The first of its kind in New Zealand, Secure Home is a programme where buyers purchase the properties through a 100-year lease arrangement, with the Trust retaining ownership of the land in perpetuity.